Err:LadybugExe
by Texas Variety Katie-Bug
Summary: Chat Noir, famous superhero. Adrien Agreste, famous inventor and model. Being all this is quite time consuming, so he created something to help him out, a robot named Marinette. Problem Number One: She doesn't know she's a robot. Problem Number Two: She's in love with him. Problem Number Three: He's pretty sure he's in love with her, too.
1. Prologue

Prologue

If someone were to use the word eccentric to describe Adrien Agreste they would be spot on, though only a select few knew of his insane hobbies and tendencies. Everyone knew the public face, golden boy model, son of Gabriel Agreste, the most celebrated designer in Paris. It was common knowledge he was a prodigy in the sciences, creating robots and software that were quickly bought up by companies like Apple and Google. Reporters would talk to him, ask him how he became interested in robotics, wondering what sparked interest in the prodigy. He was polite, mild mannered and quiet in front of the cameras, answering all their questions with the same laissez faire attitude he was taught growing up, save one. "What do you think of the superhero Chat Noir?"

If one looked close they could see the small fire in his eyes, and the small smirk before he spoke. "Chat Noir? I don't think it's my right to have an opinion on someone like him. I know nothing about him." After interviews he would retreat and head back to his workshop. On the surface it was clean, state of the art. Computers and monitors stood shining, connected to microscopes, spreadsheets, folders and internet browsers opened displaying various signs of research. Half finished prototypes stood guard on worktables. Tools lined the walls neatly, shining. His eccentricities weren't apparent, unless someone happened to place a phillips head screw driver into a small knot on the wall, hidden behind a large circular saw. Then they could see the stairs descend into the real workshop, descending into madness like Alice down the rabbit hole. Adrien smiled as he did so. This was where his real work lived.

"What do you mean you don't have the right to have an opinion of someone like Chat Noir?" As soon as Adrien entered his workshop he was bombarded by questions from a robot he had created to help him when he was Chat Noir, an artificially intelligent robot with a design somewhere between a cat and a fairy, a little robot named Plagg.

"So you saw the news today?"

"Of course I did! What else do you think I do when you leave? I get bored." Maybe a little _too_ artificially intelligent. "Nino stopped by, by the way. He was asking how the project was going."

"Call him and tell him to come down to the workshop." Adrien put on a pair of glasses as he spoke, gathering up the few tools he needed. "Do the same for Alya and Chloe while you're at it. They're going to want to see this."

"Adriennnnnn, why don't we go do something fun for a change? You can show me off the the world. You've always said _I_ was your greatest creation. You even made four more of me."

Adrien rolled his eyes at the little bot. How did the little thing have such a big ego? "I believe I said the Kwami were my greatest creation. You're probably at the bottom of the list."

"You know you like me. You gave the others away."

"To Nino, Alya and Chloe. I'm just glad I designed more agreeable personalities for them."

Plagg went over and looked at the project, looking over the different measurements and pressure points. "There's a screw loose in the joint over here."

"Thank you, Plagg." Adrien picked up a screwdriver and made his way to the bot, repairing the joint.

"You're welcome. I helped. Now can we go do something?"

"Why don't you call the others like I asked you too?" He loved Plagg more than he'd care to admit, but the robot had a personality that was a bit much. He designed Plagg to have more opposites than similarities to himself, something he carefully avoided with the Kwami he designed for the others.

"I sent them a text while you were telling me I was the best. Now let's get out of here before they get here." The robot hovered above his head and looked the new project over once again. "Once that joint is finished it just needs to be turned on. You out did yourself again, you're the most talented inventor in the world, you could win a Nobel Prize for this, yada yada, blah blah blah."

"Why don't you go download the last few programs on Tikki? It should be the red USB. It'll keep you busy for another two hours or so." Plagg let out an annoyed huff and did as Adrien told him. Why did his inventor have to be such a boring stick in the mud?

"There, finished." The joint was finished and the hole he had created to fix the screw was repaired. The Kwami had been his greatest invention, but this would surpass even them.

The sound of the door upstairs opening followed by three sets of footsteps pulled Adrien away from his thoughts. They were here. "Adrien, bro! You finished your thing?" A hand was placed on his shoulder and Adrien noticed Nino looking at him with a smile. Behind him stood Alya, cellphone in hand, ready to record, Chloe, arms crossed, looking at the workshop with a soft glare. The three of them were the only ones who knew he was Chat Noir.

Nino was Adrien's best friend. They met in a robotics class in high school and the two of them hit it off. He was the only other person in the world who knew how the Kwami were made, how the Chat Noir suit worked, allowing Adrien to perform crazy stunts, and how to repair any of it. Adrien had officially met Alya when Nino started dating her, but he'd seen her around before at press conference events. She was the reporter who had gotten closest to revealing Chat's identity, so Adrien used her skills to his advantage, revealing himself to her requesting she the public away from him. Chloe was his benefactor and oldest friend. She provided the money it took to be Chat Noir since the money he received from his own inventions and software had to towards creating more inventions and software. She was an up and coming politician in Europe and one of Chat biggest public supporters. "So, what is this new invention?" Chloe asked, cutting right to the chase. She wanted to see where her money was going.

Adrien smiled. "Right this way," he lead them to the corner where a large stand stood, covered by a sheet. "So, you all know I've been a superhero for a while and it's been fun, but it's a bit hard to be the only one Paris can count on, so," he pulled back the sheet and the three of them looked like a bucket of cold water had been poured over them. She looked real, the girl. Not in the creepy robotic way, where there was something just not right, like with dolls. No, she looked like a real person. Her chest moved up and down slightly, imitating breathing. A few light freckles dusted her face. Black hair fell onto her shoulders, held in two pigtails. She looked like someone who was sleeping, whisked away in pleasant dreams. "This is Marinette, or, when she is with me, Ladybug."

"Oh my gosh, Adrien that is amazing! How on earth did you make her? She looks so real!" Alya had her phone and was taking all sorts of pictures of the girl, looking her over like Plagg was just moments ago.

"I've spent the last three years building her, a year and a half in design. The programming for her personality took eight months on its own." He glanced over at the little black robot who still was meddling with the USB drive for Tikki. One of the reasons I created Plagg was to practice implementing personalities into robots." He gave himself a small smile. "I say it was a success."

"So, how do you turn her on?"

Adrien smiled, "Watch this," he walked over to the bot and smiled. "Marinette, it's time to wake up."

The girl stretched, letting out a small groan, "No. Like, five more minutes, please."

"Dude, that is amazing!" Nino's excitement filled the room and everyone let out cheers of excitement.

"W-what's going on? Why's everyone so excited?" The robot finally opened her eyes, sleepy for a moment, then suddenly wide awake. "W-who are you?" She looked around, trying to get a sense of her surroundings. "Where am I?"

Adrien walked over to Marinette, a smile on his face. "Don't worry. This is my workshop. We brought you here after you hit your head, don't you remember? It's me, Adrien. That's Nino, Alya and Chloe. We're your friends."

Marinette shook her head. "I-I don't remember anything."

He offered her a kind smile. "Why don't you go look around at everything.?That might spark some memories. The doctor said you might have amnesia." He said all this knowing full well none of this was true. Marinette nodded and looked around the workshop, looking at the various blueprints and designs. Adrien turned to the three and spoke quietly. "There's one last thing you guys need to know. Marinette doesn't know she's a robot."

* * *

 _Thus ends the prologue of this story. Future chapters will be longer and I plan on updating twice a week. I haven't settled on an update schedule yet, though. IT depends on when Constellations gets updated. I'm thinking maybe Tuesday-Sunday for future chapters but that's not set in stone. I'll keep y'all posted, though. Let me know what y'all think! I hope y'all enjoyed!_


	2. Chapter One

Chapter One

Marinette rubbed her hands together as she looked at the meal in front of her, licking her lips in anticipation as a bowl of chicken carbonara was placed in front of her. "Thanks for dinner, Adrien!" She took a bite of the pasta, savoring the taste of the meal. "I seriously need to pay you back one of these days. You're always cooking for me. It's too nice," she gave him a small smile and took another bite.

"It's no problem, Marinette. I'll cook and feed us, you do the dishes and we're even!" There was something about Adrien that didn't quite add up. Every day since she started to live with him two years ago he had been the one to provide for her. She kept insisting she should cook for the two of them one of these days, but it was always a hard pass on his part.

"Chaton, are you afraid of my cooking?" She gave him a teasing smile as she looked at him. His features were absolutely perfect, as if he was carved out by angels themselves. His hair the most perfect golden color, like the sunshine was bottled and placed in his hair, and emerald eyes that would make the most beautiful of gemstones weep at their gloriousness. His smile always a cute half turned smile that made her weak at the knees. He was so kind to her as well, telling her about how she hit her head when she was escaping her home when it caught on fire, taking her in after her parents went to live in China with her relatives. She wondered why they hadn't contacted her. She couldn't miss them... she didn't know them, but it was strange to her that they would make no effort. If she was starting to feel sad about them he would always lend her a supporting hand. "I need to do something to help. I'm a freeloader!"

The look he gave her was so tender, full of so many different emotions. "Marinette, you are a lot of things but trust me when I say you are not a freeloader." He took a bite of his meal and she was captivated, watching him as he enjoyed the flavor of his creation. "You help me in the shop and the house then go turn around and do amazing things as Ladybug."

"Only because you let me become her." Days after she moved in Adrien gave her a pair of earrings and the ability to be a superhero with the use of some of his most hi-tech gadgets, like a yo-yo which she could use to ensnare burglars and muggers. Her suit deflected bullets from the mafia and petty criminals. Some gadget placed in the arms allowed her to lift large objects like they were just paper. He gave her Tikki, a robot who helped her out regularly, giving her updates on the news, when the police needed assistance with, etc. He had dome so much for her. "I'm seriously asking. What can I do to repay you?"

When his eyes met hers she swore she melted for a moment. "Stay here. You've done so much to help. I, frankly, can't imagine this house without you anymore. It's not home without you here."

She must be hearing things. Did he just tell her that all he wanted was for her to stay? She had to call Alya later and tell her about this new development. She wanted to stay with Adrien, to be by his side as long as he needed her to. "Well, you didn't need to ask for that to happen. I will always be here."

He was lonely. She could tell by the way he looked wistfully at the happy families, brothers and sisters, mothers and fathers, walking their children around Paris, holding hands and eating ice cream. She knew he grew up without his mother, his father being aloof, uncaring and overbearing all at once. He had snuck into a school one day, enrolling with the help of his father's assistant, going to school and discovering his love for robotics, meeting Nino, the first real friend he had. She wished she could have been there for him at the time. When she tried to think of her own school experience images of a generic life passed through her mind. She couldn't recall any friends, laughing down the halls, meeting up for coffee dates before school... it was like her high school was just for learning, so socialization whatsoever. She couldn't find herself missing the memories, but she felt lonely too. Maybe he could detect her feelings. He gave her a pat on the head as he got up and finished his meal, taking Marinette's finished dish to the kitchen with him. She didn't remember eating it all, but she hardly remembered eating in the first place. The activity didn't bring her much joy. "I-I can get those."

He shook his head. "Don't worry about it. I'll put them in the sink for you. Just wash them up when you feel like it." He gave her another warm smile. "I've got some work to do and need to run a couple errands. Call me if you need anything."

"Alright," she said and he disappeared again. She wondered what he could be working on that needed so many errands. There was nothing pressing in his workshop. She let out a sigh and got up from the table, deciding it would be better to do the dishes sooner rather than later. The task occupied her mind for no more than five minutes, giving her little relief. She wandered aimlessly around the house, looking for something to do, eventually deciding to turn on the television and watch one of Adrien's favorite animes. Again. "I'd be happy to help him, he knows that." She leaned back, attempting to make herself more comfortable in the seat, "Stubborn bastard."

She was three episodes into Fullmetal Alchemist when Tikki wandered her way into the room, fluttering aimlessly before sitting on Marinette's shoulder. "What are you up to?"

"Nothing. I'd kill to get rid of this boredom right now."

The little robot gave a small smile. Marinette liked Tikki. She had personality, a life of her own. It amazed Marinette how a little robot could have so much life. It was almost like she was real. "Want to go out on patrol?"

She shrugged. "That could be fun. It's been a while, hasn't it?"

Tikki nodded. "Yeah! I'll text Adrien and tell him what we're doing." The robot closed her eyes and her antennae glowed pink for a moment before returning to their normal red color. "Done! Let's go!"

"Tikki, Spots On!" the robot complied and wrapped herself around Marinette, transforming into the Ladybug suit. Marinette, frankly, had no idea how the transformation worked but she knew it was genius on Adrien's part for designing something like Tikki and Plagg. The Kwami-Bots were incredible.

A moment later Ladybug made her escape through a window, jumping across rooftops, enjoying the feeling of the wind blowing through her hair. People walking through the streets waved at the superhero giving her excited glances as she passed by. She smiled at each of them as she made her way through the city. "Give me your money!"

Ladybug's ears picked up on the sound of a gun clicking a few blocks over and the smile suddenly disappeared from her face. It was time to stop messing around and time to be a hero. When she got there she saw a young woman dressed completely in black, brown hair peeking out from underneath a black beanie. She pointed a gun at a small man wearing a red Hawaiian shirt with a calm expression on his face. "Young lady, do you need any help?"

"Sh-shut up. Just give me the money and we'll both walk away from here."

The man shook his head. "I'm afraid I don't have any on me. If you come back to my house I can help you."

"Cut the bullshit. You'll just call the police." She looked him over, her eyes settling on a thin gold chain around his neck. "Give me the necklace."

Ladybug chose that moment to drop behind the young mugger. "Threatening others seems like something only a coward would do."

The girl whipped around quickly, letting out a round as she did so, hitting Ladybug in the stomach, bright yellow paint spreading across her torso. "Paintball gun?" So the girl wasn't planning on killing the man if she didn't get her way. The gun was a scare tactic, but the man didn't fall for it. The young woman looked terrified, though.

"I-I'm sorry, Ladybug! I-I need money. I got fired from my job and haven't had a meal in two days. I'm just trying to get money for food."

"That doesn't mean you can just go after people." Ladybug gave the girl a look over. She didn't seem like a horrible person, especially with the tears pricking in the corner of her blue eyes. She couldn't let this slide though. "I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to call the police. You threatened someone."

The girl hung her head in defeat, sinking to her knees. "Thank you for saving me, Ladybug," she turned her attention to the voice behind her, looking down at the old man who had a kind smile on his face, "but I don't think calling the police will be necessary." He looked at the girl who was sobbing on the ground. "Hunger makes us all do crazy things. Why don't you come with him. I'll get you a meal and you can work for me. I've been meaning to hire someone to work the front desk at my shop."

The girl's sobs started shaking her whole body. "Th-thank you. Thank you s-so much, sir."

The man helped the girl to her feet and smiled at Ladybug. "I hope to see you soon, Ladybug."

She nodded and watched the pair disappear into the Parisian nighttime before deciding it would be okay for her to return home. Tikki was going to need to charge up before too long. She had been out for about four hours.

Adrien was sitting in a chair when Ladybug returned, dropping her transformation and becoming Marinette again. "How was your patrol?"

She gave a shrug and a small smile. "It was good." Marinette was glad there were people like the old man in the world.

* * *

 _So this story is more of a short story. The chapters aren't going to be as long as the chapters in Constellations and it's only going to be six chapters with a prologue and epilogue when all is said and done, so eight total. Still, I hope you guys enjoy it! I'm planning Thursday and Sunday updates for this story for the next month. :) Thank you to those who favorited and followed, and a special thanks to those of you who reviewed! It really means a lot to me. I hope you all enjoyed! Let me know what y'all think!_


	3. Chapter Two

Chapter Two

Adrien licked his lips as he took in the stunning view in front of him. Black hair was loose, falling down around her shoulders, a blush spreading across her cheeks making her light freckles a bit more prominent. Her eyes blinked slowly, sultry, telling him to take her. Her teeth ran over bottom lip, grazing them lightly, drawing attention to it. She stood there, in the doorway, clad in nothing but lacy red and black undergarments, her arms crossed around her torso, hugging herself tightly, shifting her weight from one foot to the other. Adrien could feel his breath get caught in his throat as he looked at her, drinking in everything about her. "Well, say something." He could hear the nerves in her voice as she spoke, smiling gently, trying to give her a bit of confidence.

"You're beautiful." He made his way out of his bed and walked over to her, taking slow, confident steps, shortening the distance between the two of them, dragging on the moments. "You're absolutely perfect, Marinette."

"A-Adrien I-"

He shook his head, placing his pointer finger over her lips, effectively silencing her. "Let's enjoy this." He bent his head down and placed a soft kiss on her lips, growing hungrier and hungrier for her with each kiss he indulged in. He brought his hands to her waist, pulling her close, enjoying her company. There was one thing repeating his his head as he kissed her, letting himself be spoiled by her. "I love you, Marinette."

She pulled back from him and he was shocked by what he saw. Her skin had disappeared, hair and other human features had vanished, leaving just a robotic frame in her place, a robotic frame with big, beautiful blue eyes. "Are you sure?"

His eyes opened suddenly and Adrien found himself hunched over, asleep on his desk in his secret lab. "Just a dream," he spoke quietly, "or nightmare." He sat up and rolled back his shoulders in an attempt to get rid of the stiffness that had formed from sleeping in the awkward position. He looked over the blueprints he had been working on, a new Kwami that would be able to give various people enhanced skills through the use of robotic butterflies he called Akuma. The Akuma could be used on police officers or firemen, allowing them to help the public more and get people out of danger more efficiently and safely. "Plagg, can you come scan these prints? See if there's anything I missed in the development."

The Kwami poked his head out from behind a computer hard drive and looked at his creator. "You're kidding me, right? You've got this Kwami thing mastered by now. You don't need me to look at it."

"Please, Plagg? Better safe than sorry."

Plagg let out a groan and made his way over, quickly scanning the blueprints over, checking for errors and inconsistencies. "You're good, just like I said you'd be. Can I get back to what I was doing now?"

Adrien eyed the Kwami suspiciously, realizing he'd appeared form behind the computer. "What _were_ you doing?"

"Not telling!" Plagg crossed his arms indignantly turning away from Adrien and returning to his spot, plugging himself into the computer with one of his whiskers.

"You do realize I can just look up what you're doing, right?"

If Plagg had been able to turn red he would have. Instead he just continued to shake his head. "You wouldn't dare."

It was too late. Adrien had pulled out his phone and was looking up the Kwami's activities. "Why are you pirating Fifty Shades of Grey?"

The download finished and Plagg flew off somewhere where Adrien couldn't reach him, rolling his eyes at his mischievous, and apparently slightly perverted little bot, Adrien realizing he wasn't any better after the dream he had about Marinette last night. He banged his head on the table upon the realization he had a sexual dream about one of his creations. The dreadful feeling only grew when he realized he wasn't ashamed of the dream, just confused. "Hey, Plagg, I'm going out. I need to clear my head." The robot appeared from behind a different hard drive and made his way over to Adrien.

"Do we have to go?"

"You have to come with me in case of an emergency, but you're not going to have to do anything. You can continue to sit on your lazy ass as long as we're out."

"Great!" The Kwami flew into Adrien's jacket pocket and Adrien pulled out his phone, sending an SOS to Nino, asking him to meet him at the usual place.

The usual place turned out to be an arcade the two frequented in high school. It was here Nino had made the offhanded comment about how fun it would be to be a superhero and Adrien came up with the idea to make the Chat Noir costume for the first time, back when the idea he had for his superhero persona was essentially Anime-Man with the power to knock off different anime character's abilities. He was glad he abandoned that idea in a hurry. Much _purr_ ferring the cat themed persona he took on. The idea for that superhero came from Alya, who won a black cat in the claw machine in the arcade, giving it to Adrien since she had won a plethora of other stuffed creatures from the game already. She was really good at the game by some bizarre miracle.

Adrien beat Nino to the arcade and ordered a pizza, well, two pizza's. Nino liked his pizza with everything on it imaginable and Adrien preferred just cheese. He sat down at one of the corner booths and rubbed his temples in little circles trying to figure how to manage this latest fiasco. "Hey, dude!" Nino joined Adrien at the booth and took a slice of pizza. "So, what's the SOS?"

Adrien took one of his slices and took a bite, trying to figure out the best way to tell Nino about his dream without sounding like a compete freak. "I- uh," he rolled his shoulders back, popping the vertebrae in his back, piecing together his thoughts. "Have you ever had a dream about Alya?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"I had a dream about a girl last night."

Nino looked at Adrien skeptically. The years he's known his friend he has never shown romantic interest in anyone. The closest thing he had to a romantic relationship was his robots and- there it was. "Was this girl made of metal?" Nino took Adrien's silence as his answer. "Marinette?"

"I'm insane, aren't I, Nino?"

"Well, you're such a gear head it makes sense that you would end up falling for one of your creations. Frankly I'm glad your subconscious chose to fixate on Mari and not Plagg." That was something that came as a relief to them both, but caused Plagg to kick Adrien through the jacket, causing the latter to let out a startled screech. Nino looked at his friend questioningly, then chose to ignore the outburst, knowing his friend was going insane. "Adrien, I think you need to get out more. You spend all your time working, either modeling or in the lab, and when you're not doing that you're out playing superhero. You need to get your head out of the toolbox and come explore the real world." Nino noticed the disappointed expression on Adrien's face, but now was the time for tough love. "Marinette is great, but she's not human, Adrien. Wether she knows it or not. What kind of future could you have with her? You can't fall in love with her."

His first reaction was to deny Nino's claims, that he was in love with Marinette, but when he opened his mouth to do so no words came out. It felt like he was betraying his lady, and Nino noticed this, raising an eyebrow at Adrien. "Okay, I might have feelings for her," he said, "but she doesn't know what she is. She thinks she's as human as you or me. It's not fair for me to change that on her now."

"Just be careful, dude. Don't lose your head."

After a couple hours of playing games and gorging themselves on pizza, Adrien finally returned home, greeting Marinette as he walked in, trying to ignore the flutter of his heart as he did so. He went down the stairs, into the laboratory, and opened the secret entrance. He needed time to think about Nino's words, but he wouldn't get that time. His secret lab was ransacked and the blueprints for his newest Kwami and the Akuma were missing.

* * *

 _Hey guys, I'm so sorry about missing the update on Sunday! I worked overtime last week, housesat, babysat, got sick and continued to be sick, stressing out because my 21st birthday is on Monday and the medicine I'm on doesn't allow me to drink… so that's where I"m at in life. I didn't forget about y'all though! I just wasn't able to get the chapter out like I wanted. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, though! Thank you so much to those of you who favorited and followed and an extra special thanks to those of you who reviewed. It helps a lot. :) I'll see y'all Sunday!_


	4. Chapter Three

Chapter Three

The day started out as seemingly normal. Ladybug and Chat Noir had seen no action recently, a calm settled over the city, causing the people of Paris to celebrate the recent decrease in criminal activity. Marinette was happy with the recent development, though a touch bored, spending her free time designing clothes to distract her mind. Adrien's mind was much more active, sending out searches for the missing blueprints, looking for any sign that a new Kwami had been built, keeping an eye out for the akuma. Adrien hated the decrease in criminal activity. It seemed like the calm before the storm, causing him to surge into dark thoughts, dreading how his designs could be used when placed in the wrong hands.

While he was modeling he was distracted, the photographer having a difficult time getting the model to focus on the task at hand. While he was working on prototypes for large companies he made mistakes that Nino pointed out to him, mistakes that he hadn't made since he was in high school. His mind truly was somewhere else.

Marinette picked up on these uneasy feelings but whenever she confronted Adrien he just gave her a smile and a shrug, telling her to not worry, it was out of her control. She knew he had a secret lab he went to, one he didn't tell her about, and she badly wanted to follow him, but there was something that stopped her every time, a feeling of dread would wash over her and she'd turn away.

It had been three months since Adrien's plans had gone missing and the feeling of dread only grew, rightfully so. Three miles away there was someone smiling to themselves, putting the finishing touches on their robotic masterpiece, or rather, the robotic masterpiece they stole.

The man had picked out his subject two months ago, in the middle of the building process. He was a large man, a firefighter who had a wife and an infant son back at home. Recently his wife had been laid off from her job for missing too many days of work after their son got gravely ill. The son recovered but their bank account took a hit. People in the community and friends had sent in donations for the young boy's life saving treatment, but it wasn't enough. The man had to take on more hours at the firehouse and put himself in more life-threatening situations, worrying his wife. The man's name was Ivan and he would do anything for his family. That's why when the man came to Ivan, offering him hundreds of thousands of dollars to take part in an experiment that would increase his strength and stamina tenfold there was no hesitation in accepting.

A ten in the morning Ivan walked up to a large house, one so large it could possibly be called a mansion, and knocked, praying all would go well today. He needed everything to go well. Mylene and Nolan depended on him. "Excuse me? I'm here to see," he looked down at the name given to him on the paper, "I'm here to see Hawkmoth."

Six thirty-four Adrien and Marinette were sitting down to dinner, eating tomato soup and gruyere melted over a toasted baguette when Plagg and Tikki barged into the room, both with grim looks on their faces. "There's a man attacking Paris!" Tikki cried out, looking at the two of them in desperation.

Adrien immediately looked over at Plagg, a grim nod was all he could give. "Looks like there's a robotic butterfly implanted on the back of the man's neck. It's probably the source of the strength."

"Well, looks like we've got our work cut out for us! Thanks for the meal, Adrien." Marinette hopped up from her seat, abandoning the bowl, going to change into her suit. Adrien looked at his own bowl, half empty, his heartbeat quickening. He had enjoyed a meal but the bowl Marinette had was completely empty, never filled in the first place. The chicken carbonara from months ago which she enjoyed, the pizza they ate on the couch, the tomato soup today, none of it really existed for her. That's why he never let her cook. He shook his head. Why was he thinking about that now? He had work to do! He went to change into his Chat Noir suit, the vague nauseous feeling never really leaving.

Once changed they raced to the scene of the wreckage. They were in a heavily populated tourist area just outside the Eiffel Tower. "Look, it's Ladybug and Chat Noir!" a bystander shouted. People turned their attention to the superheroes, cheering that someone had finally come to save them.

Ladybug looked over the scene, looking at the damaged caused by the man. "This is insane! What's able to give him something with so much strength?"

The man didn't look like a monster, just a larger than average man with larger than average muscles, wearing purple and black athletic wear, a black and purple butterfly mask covering his face. On the back of his neck was the little robotic butterfly giving him the source of his powers. From the blank look in his eyes it seemed like the man had no control of his actions. He seemed like a blank doll. A blank doll who was able to throw cars around.

The pair looked over the man when they heard the sound of a woman screaming, yelling something at the man in desperation. "Listen to me! Please, Ivan! Stop this!"

Ladybug rushed over to the woman, a young woman clutching an infant to her chest, trying to scream to the man through tears. "Do you know this man?" she asked gently.

The woman sniffed and nodded. "I- I- yes. He's my husband. His name is Ivan Bruel. He wouldn't hurt anyone, please believe me! I- I don't know what's happened to him but- but-" the tears started to fall down the woman's face again. Chat Noir made his way to the pair and placed a hand on the woman's shoulder.

"I think he's being controlled. There's a robot on the back of his neck that he wouldn't have been able to put there himself. Ladybug and I will get rid of the robot and he should be back to normal in no time."

She looked up at the super duo afraid. "What's going to happen to him? Will he go to jail?" She clutched her son closer to her chest, clinging to him in fear, "We need him. He can't go to jail."

Ladybug smiled at the woman. "None of this is his fault. We'll make sure that doesn't happen." She looked around and pointed to a bakery not too far in the distance. "Go to that bakery and stay there until it's safe to come out. We'll get your husband back to you, I promise."

They watched the woman retreat and turned their attention back to the man- Ivan as they now knew his name. "So, M'Lady, what do you _purr_ pose we do?"

"I say you get his attention and distract him and I'll sneak up behind him and grab the robot off of him."

Chat Noir smiled. "Sounds _claw_ some."

Ladybug resisted the urge to roll her eyes and darted off, leaving her partner to battle the man. "Come on you big meat head and catch me if you can!" she heard her partner taunt. The man let out a roar similar to that of the Hulk and chased after the black clad superhero. Ladybug perched on top of a car and waited for her opportunity to strike. She leapt behind them quickly, keeping up with them, until her heart nearly stopped. The man had cornered Chat Noir and was now going to pick up a car to throw at him.

She didn't hesitate. She ran to where Chat was and pushed him out of the way, getting him out of danger just as the man threw the car, pinning her arm down. "Ladybug!" Char screamed. Her eyes were closed, in preparation to feel pain, but instead she felt nothing, looking over, expecting to see blood and bone from where her arm was crushed, not metal and wires.

"Wh-what?"

The man took the opportunity to run away, presumably back to the man who had created the robot controlling him. Chat didn't follow, though. He used his baton as leverage to pull the car up just enough for Ladybug to get her arm out. "Chat what- what's going on?"

* * *

 _Sorry about the missed update Sunday! Life has been incredibly busy so I've decided to update this story only once a week until life settles down a bit… Sorry about that! I'm doing the same thing with my other story Constellations as well, if you saw a similar announcement there last night. As always, thank you so much to those of you who favorited and followed, and a very special thanks to those of you who reviewed! It really means a lot to me. I'll see y'all soon!_


	5. Chapter Four

Chapter Four

"Chat, please. What's going on?" The spotted hero was looking at her partner with wide eyes, her left arm cradling the broken right one. Chat spared a glance to where the possessed man ran but shook his head. He couldn't fight him right now. He had to take care of his partner, that was his first priority. Once she was put back together then they could take care of the situation. He made his way over to his lady and extended a hand, helping to to her feet, standing on her right side to hide the damage from the onlookers who hadn't figured out what happened yet.

"Come on, M'Lady. We're going home."

She shook her head and made a desperate attempt to back away from him. "No! I- I'm not going anywhere until you tell me what's going on."

He tightened his grip on her hand and brought it to his lips, pressing a gentle but firm kiss there. "Please, it'll be easier to show you at home." He looked around at the people starting to come closer, see what had suddenly made the two heroes so somber and frightened. "We work for the people of Paris first. If they see us in this state they're going to think something is wrong."

The girl nodded and let herself be dragged along. Chat Noir extended his baton and, with one hand around his lay's waist, he leapt onto the rooftops and made his way home, entering as discreetly as possible and taking off his disguise. "Go change and make yourself comfortable. We'll be down in the lab for a while."

Ladybug took off her mask and became Marinette once again, numbly nodding as she walked off, changing to a pair of black leggings and black undershirt before making her way back to Adrien. Tikki and Plagg watched on, both uncharacteristically quiet. The tension in the air was so thick it was doubtful a chainsaw could cut it. Marinette caught sight of Adrien back in the living room, noting he himself had changed into a pair of sweatpants and a black t-shirt, the outfit he resorted to when he was going to be working for a long time. She looked down at her arm, or what was left of it, broken off at the elbow, a series of wires and twisted metal all that remained. She broke her gaze away and looked at Adrien who refused to make eye contact with her. He just took her remaining hand and gently led her to the lab, going behind the secret panel and into the place where his real work began.

"You can sit on the table," he said, motioning to a large metal rectangle taking up a large portion of the room. She obliged and he started gathering papers, materials and tools that the girl couldn't name if her life depended on it. Silence between the two of them was usually comfortable. They would flourish in the company the other gave them, each becoming their best selves, but now...

"Can you turn on the tv?" She couldn't take the silence anymore. She needed something to distract her thoughts, not caring what it was.

"Yeah." He picked up a remote and turned on the television, flipping to Netflix and selecting a random anime he had been watching, Death Note, starting from the first episode so he could tune it out while his subject became absorbed. They were probably four episodes in on the somber show when he finally spoke. "I'm sorry."

She turned her attention to him. He was looking down at his work, piecing together the robotic arm, not yet placing it on her. "Can I ask you about my past?" He continued to work on the arm. "I mean, what am I? You told me you were my friend. You told me my history. Alya, Nino, even Chloe... they're my friends, aren't they? What am I, Adrien?"

She could see him shaking as he worked. He refused to look at her. "I- Marinette, you," finally he faced her, his green eyes swollen and red rimmed. "I was lonely as a superhero, but I didn't know anyone who would be able to protect Paris like I was able to, so I decided to create my own. Tikki, Wayzz, Pollen, Trixx, hell, even Plagg were created to help me figure out how to make a perfect hero. I wanted one who was kind, smart, able to hold their own and make their own decisions, one who would be able to carry the torch even when I had to stop being Chat Noir... Marinette, I created you."

"Why didn't you tell me?" There was so much hurt in her voice, confusion. "You lied to me. Our friends lied to me. They knew didn't they? I mean you gave them their own Kwami."

He nodded. "Yeah, they knew." He bent back down over the arm, tinkering with it again. "They told me it was a bad idea not to tell you. Alya and Chloe especially. They thought you deserved to know, and they were right."

"Then why didn't you tell me? If I deserved to know then what held you back?" Her voice rose in pitch, desperation dripping in every word.

"I was too selfish, Marinette!" his voice cried out in a guttural tone. "I'm too fucking selfish."

Silence fell over the two of them again, as his words rang out. He went back to being completely focused on his work. Moments or hours passed, neither really sure, before she spoke again. "What about this makes you selfish?"

With that, the piece he was working on was abandoned. He walked over to her until he was directly in front of where she was sitting. He stood towering over her, but leaned in and placed his lips on hers. She couldn't comprehend what was happening. He was kissing her. A magical moment that she couldn't understand the feelings behind, yet she kissed him back, reaching desperately to understand the inner turmoil inside him. He pulled away eventually, panting, leaving her confused and happy. "I planned on telling you after you were recognized by the city ad Ladybug but we became friends and I started to feel something more for you because somehow I made a perfect creation and if I told you the truth about you then you wouldn't view me the same way. I can already tell you're pulling away from me, Mari. You just _don't_ have it in you to understand, and I want you to. I would do anything to make you understand. I want you to be real because you are precious to me and I don't know what I am supposed to do." He took her hand and placed it on his chest. "That's my heart. Flesh, blood, keeping me alive." He then took his hand and placed it where hers was. "Your heart, I tried so hard to make it real, but," he let out a laugh as he dissolved deeper into his thoughts. "I'm crazy. I've convinced myself that all of you, Plagg, Tikki," he looked up into her eyes, "you," he let out a laugh again, mocking himself, "I've convinced myself you're all real." He shook his head and sunk to his knees, burying his face in her lap. She started to stroke his hair, running the golden strands between her fingers.

"It must have been lonely." He started to tremble and she continued to run her fingers through his hair. "What kind of life did you live before where you ended up having to depend on machines for companionship? It's not fair to you."

"Or you."

Their eyes met one another, longing for their situation to be different. Wasn't there someway to freeze time and just have them be simply a boy who loves a girl and a girl who loves a boy? There wasn't. And the moment had to end. They had to separate their gazes and explore the world of reality again.

"I'll finish your arm tonight, Mari. Get some rest. I'll see you tomorrow."

She nodded, not sure what else to say. "Yeah, we'll save that man, then we can figure out what's next."

"Of course." And she left, neither satisfied with the events that had transpired, both heartbroken in their own ways.

* * *

 _Hey guys thank y'all so much for reading! We're over halfway done! Thank you so much to those of you who favorited and followed, and a special thanks to those of you who reviewed! It really means a lot to me. I read all of them and use the notes I'm given for future chapters. Starting today I'm celebrating the thirteen days of Halloween and I have a horror story that I'm going to be updating every day until Halloween gets here, so if you enjoy horror and ghost stories please go check out Sepulchral on my page! If not, then I'll see you Thursday!_


	6. Chapter Five

Chapter Five

It's amazing what a good night sleep can do. Everything from yesterday is left in the past, the mind resets and the day starts fresh. Too bad neither of them got a wink of it. Adrien was focused on remaking Marinette's arm, doing his best to ignore the events of yesterday when the fact she was a robot came to light. He tried to ignore how he felt for her, how wrong it was to feel that way. He felt guilty for not telling her sooner, ruining the life she had made for herself. If he was more careful in that fight then nothing would have happened. Marinette wouldn't have pushed him out of the way. She would be none the wiser about their whole situation. That fireman would be saved and would be back with his wife and son.

Adrien felt guilty for designing the Akuma in the first place. All he had wanted to do was help people, but look where it got him. There was a part of him that just wanted to give it all up. Attempting to help others was worthless in the end if all it did was bring other's pain.

Marinette was trying to process what had happened to her. She wasn't human. She was a machine. Everything about her was artificial. Her memories, her feelings, her life, none of it was real. If she were to disappear from the face of the earth it would be okay because there could be another Marinette to replace her. A part of her knew Adrien would never make a replacement for her, but he was able to, if he wanted. If she got too old or broken down he just needed to transfer her programming to a new bot that could do everything she could, except better. She would never be able to improve herself. She was the best she was ever able to be. She wouldn't be able to help Adrien any more than she was now.

She wanted to hate him. Marinette wanted to go up to him and chastise him and leave for making her feel this way, a way she didn't know she could even feel. The ability to project emotions must have been hardwired into her in order to seem more realistic. She hadn't even seen past her own facade. How awful was that? She wanted to hate Adrien so much, but she couldn't bring herself to do it. He was the reason she existed in the first place. He was so kind to her and, even though he was being selfish in not revealing to Marinette that she was a robot, he only did so because he was lonely. She was made to cure that loneliness. That was something she couldn't ignore, no matter how hard she tried. She could be bitter about it, or she could smile. She was torn between the two.

A knock on her door pulled her out of her thoughts and she answered. Adrien stood there, eyes downcast, holding the repaired arm in his hands. He looked so hurt, guilty, like he was punishing himself. Marinette couldn't let him go on like this. She chose to greet him with a smile, letting the bitterness that had settled over her evaporate. "Thanks! Getting around with one arm is a lot harder than you'd think it be!" She tried to make him laugh only to be greeted by silence. He led her over to her bed where she sat on the end as he reattached her arm, the process only taking five or so minutes. She moved it around, testing her range of motion. "Thanks, Adrien. This feels great."

He just looked up at her with that same haunted, broken look he had given her last night. There wasn't time for this. They had to save Ivan. "Come on," she said, bringing her newly repaired arm to his chin, lifting his head so his eyes would meet hers, "is that anyway for a superhero to look? We've got a city to save."

"Yeah." He broke away from her and went to get ready, leaving Marinette alone to do that same, sparing her no extra glances, aware of her eyes following him out.

They got ready without their usual excitement and headed out, leaping across the rooftops of Paris, keeping an eye out for Ivan, looking for signs of destruction. Flashing red and blue lights caught their attention. They ran over and saw the police had blocked off a park to the public, using their cars to trap in a semicircle, using the Seine as the last border to surround him. The police had their guns at the ready, preparing to shoot the man if he got too close. They didn't want to hurt him, but they didn't see any other option. Ladybug and Chat Noir caught sight of a crowd forming, media reporters with cameras pointed at the scene, reporting on the incident. Civilians watched in horror and amazement as the man wreaked havoc. A few warning shots were fired off by the police, not hitting the man, but coming close, causing a scream to come from the front of the crowd. They focused their attention on Ivan's wife, who stood watching in agony as the police shot at her husband.

Ladybug looked over the situation. Ivan had picked up a police car and was preparing to throw it into the bystanders. What kind of strength did this little butterfly give the man? This wasn't safe for the civilians, but it wasn't safe for Ivan either. She had to come up with a plan. She was willing to do anything to save Paris. She didn't know if that was her programming or if it was how she truly felt. In that moment. She didn't care. Human. Robot. It didn't matter what she was. She just needed to save everyone.

She looked to her right and saw Chat Noir crouched, looking for a way to get in, trying to come up with a plan, just like her. Chat was better with robots. He would be the only one who could safely get the akuma off of Ivan. She would have to distract him enough to get an opening. That would have to be the plan for now. "Chat, I'll go in and distract him. When you see an opening to grab the akuma, do it. Don't hesitate."

He nodded and let Ladybug take the lead, knowing this was the best course of action. She was faster and could withstand his attacks better. That's what she was built for. He now had to do what he did best. "Go for it, M'Lady."

She leapt off and started running around Ivan, getting his attention. Chat cringed when he saw Ivan throw the police car at Ladybug, but sighed in relief when she dodged. She was doing her job well, leading him away from the crowd and close to the Seine. The police had stopped shooting for fear of hitting either of the superheroes. Ladybug got in close and threw her yoyo around Ivan's legs, causing him to fall over. Chat didn't look as he went in, taking the leap and quickly, but carefully extracting the robotic butterfly from Ivan's neck, crushing it in his hands as he did so.

Cheering was coming from the crowd and the police struggled to hold them back. Ivan looked up and looked around confused before his eyes widened in horror. Chat assumed it was because he remembered the damage he caused after a moment of confusion, but then a much darker image took over. Ivan gently let go of what was in his hands, backing up as well as he could, allowing Chat Noir to get a closer look. When Ladybug tied Ivan's legs up with her yoyo he grabbed her on the way down, crushing her waist in his hands, snapping her like a cheap toy. She was still in one piece, but looked like a broken doll, which she was essentially was. Chat picked up Ladybug in his arms, abandoning the scene before anyone could ask anymore questions.

He rushed home and put Ladybug on the couch as soon as he could. The whole time he carried her she made no movement. He shook his head. This couldn't be happening. This couldn't happen to his Ladybug. She was just fine. She had to be. Even if her back was broken he could fix her. She should still be awake, responding to him. Her head shouldn't be damaged, should it? He took a closer look and saw a small dent in the side of her head, unnoticeable at first because of her hair. "L-Ladybug?" Tears started to fill his eyes and he collapsed over her broken body, sitting there crying over her. He pressed a kiss to her forehead, a part of him regretting creating her in the first place.

* * *

 _Hi everyone! Sorry for not updating last week! I'm the absolute worst! I'm also really sorry for changing my update schedule and not letting y'all know until now. I'm the worst- again. I hope that y'all will still stick with me, though! There's only two more updates for this story then I've got a couple ideas I'm bouncing between for my next story! (Go vote on my poll for that if you don't mind… it would really help me out!) Thanks so much to all of you who favorited and followed, and a special thanks to those of you who reviewed! It really means a lot to me. I'll see y'all next Saturday!_


	7. Chapter Six

Chapter Six

Three days ago Paris grieved the death of Ladybug and two days ago Chat Noir announced his retirement. No one blamed him for deciding the leave the superhero life behind him. Hawkmoth, the creator of the akuma that enslaved the poor man was never caught, but the means of controlling others was destroyed and the police vowed to take on the case and discover who Ladybug was.

It was apparent to the people of Paris that Chat Noir was in love with Ladybug, even though he himself didn't realize that fact until fairy recently. Chat Noir went home that day with Ladybug that day and laid her down on her bed after his attempts to wake her up on the couch were in vain. She would remain there, with the door closed, undisturbed, like Snow White asleep in a glass coffin, but no kiss would wake her up. The Chat Noir suit was hung up in the laboratory and abandoned, a faithful friend discarded because of a broken heart.

Days passed and Adrien sat on the couch in his living room, staring blankly at a turned off television screen. He only got up to use the bathroom and only ate when Nino, Chloe or Alya came over and placed the food directly in front of him. When he did eat the meals were left largely untouched. His friends wanted to comfort him, remind Adrien that Ladybug -Marinette- was nothing more than a robot, but they knew that would do nothing to console their grieving friend. They knew Marinette was more than a robot. She seemed human. She thought she was human. No one could tell the difference. Alya would hang out with Marinette independent of Adrien. She had tricked herself into thinking Marinette was human as well. They all had. Even if she was made of metal and wires it was obvious to anyone that Marinette had a soul.

The day wasn't special but Adrien did something extraordinary nine days after Marinette was killed. He stood up and walked to his bathroom and took a shower. It wasn't much but it was something to be celebrated. When Nino came in to make sure Adrien would eat some breakfast he nearly had a heart attack, running around the house frantically searching for his friend, sighing in relief when he heard the water running. Nino smiled and went back to the couch where he turned on the television for the first time in days. He wouldn't let his friend sit in silence anymore. Adrien was going to be okay. It would just take a while.

Two days after he took a shower Chloe was over, bringing some Chinese takeout and watching a trashy reality show on the television, Adrien absently eating the rice with his chopsticks. Eventually he put them down, Chloe expecting him to be done with his dinner for the night. Instead he looked intently at his food and opened his mouth. Hoarse words, hardly louder than a whisper came from his mouth. "Can you change the channel?" Chloe squealed and hugged Adrien, happy some life was coming back into him. She had purposefully only watched trashy reality shows around him knowing how much he hated them. She was happy to change the channel and put on his favorite anime, despite her hating it.

Three days after Adrien asked Chloe to change the channel Alya came over with sandwiches from a deli a couple blocks away, but from the way the house smelled Alya knew that she wasn't going to be eating them. She didn't even go to the living room, instead making a beeline for the kitchen. Adrien was plating two chicken dishes. Alya got the silverware and set the table and got them each a glass of water. The chicken was a bit dry and needed salt, but Alya swore she had never eaten anything better in her life, a true statement.

A month later and Adrien was nearly back to his normal self. He was going out with his friends, watching anime, laughing. Anytime a stranger in passing mentioned Ladybug and Chat Noir his heart felt heavy, but he would shake it off. Marinette wouldn't have wanted him to feel sad. He no longer went into the second lab. He worked on new inventions in his workshop, stunning the world with new announcements, but nothing relating to his second life. Tikki and Plagg lived in the second lab with only one another for company, both pitying Adrien and missing Marinette, but they didn't dare leave the sanctuary given to them in the lab.

A year later and an article was run in the paper about the one year anniversary of Ladybug's death. A festival was held in her's and Chat Noir's honor and Adrien found himself going. He almost broke into tears when he saw the red and black dotted and black and green striped balloons. He saw little boys running around with cat ears on their heads, little girls with novelty antennae. There was a tent where anyone could write a note to the heroes expressing their thanks, knowing full well neither of them would see the notes. It warmed his heart to see the hundreds of pieces of paper hanging in the tent. He found himself writing one to Ladybug, thanking her for all she did and stating how much he missed her. He left Chat Noir's signature and discreetly hung it up with the other notes. Within minutes people saw the note and were talking about how Chat Noir was somewhere at the festival. Someone came on the microphone once word got back to the creators of the event and they thanked Chat Noir for everything he did for Paris and said they would never forget him or Ladybug. When the tears threatened to spill over Adrien left.

He went home and made himself dinner, just pulling it out of the oven when a knock on the door distracted him. It wasn't Nino, Chloe or Alya. The three of them know to just come in. Adrien almost didn't answer, pretending he wasn't home, but the person at the door was persistent, continuing to knock until Adrien came to the door. They must have known he was home. Adrien opened the door and there was a small Asian man in a red Hawaiian shirt and a walking cane. "Hello," Adrien spoke hesitantly, confused as to why the man was at his house, "is there something I can do for you?"

The man shook his head. "No, but I do think there is something I can do for you, Chat Noir." The confusion turned into full on shock at the man's words. The man came into the house and shut the door behind him, Adrien too stunned to react. "Close your mouth, young man. You don't want to catch flies."

Adrien blinked twice, realized that his mouth was, indeed, open, and promptly shut it. "Uh- how did you know that- that I am- I mean, I was Chat Noir?"

"I've known from the beginning. It wasn't difficult to figure out that Adrien Agreste, famed inventor, was also a superhero. Only you had the looks, money and technology to become a superhero." He smiled then looked around. "Where did you put Ladybug, Miss Marinette?"

Amidst the confusion a light sadness played on his heart. "She died. Last year."

The man shook his head. "No, she's a robot and therefore cannot die." Adrien was running out of things to be surprised about. "Where are you keeping her?"

Adrien gave in and led the man to Marinette's room. He hesitated when he got to the doorknob, placing his hand on the cool metal but not turning. He hadn't opened this door since he laid Marinette down in here. He sighed. Now was as good a time as any. He slowly opened the door. Everything was exactly as it was one year ago, except now with a layer of dust. There were drawing scattered everywhere, books open and bookmarked on the desk, the curtains open but the blinds closed, a pair of succulents that were, miraculously, still alive, and Marinette, wearing the Ladybug outfit, sans mask. She looked like she was asleep, but the broken, mangled, lower half of her body said otherwise. "She saved me from a mugger, and simultaneously got a poor girl back on her feet." The old man looked at Marinette with a smile. "The girl is attending college now studying engineering. She's one of the top students in her class."

"I didn't know that." There were things he didn't know about Marinette, and there were things he'd never know. He just had to accept that.

"Do you believe in magic, Mr. Agreste?"

Adrien thought about the question. Did he believe in magic? What he had with Marinette was magical. Everything about her was amazing. The love he felt for her had to be something akin to magic. "Yes," he spoke, nodding at the man.

"Then will you do me a favor and call an ambulance?"

"What?"

The man took Marinette's hand in his and closed his eyes and took a deep breath. If Adrien had blinked he would have missed it. The whole affair took place in slow motion. Bright light filled the room and the metal and wires turned to bone and tendons. Blood started flowing and Adrien immediately called an ambulance, understanding the request.

The old man got up and walked out of the room, smiling at the young man embracing the young woman. He left the house before the ambulance got there.

"Marinette!" Adrien held her in his arms and, despite the obvious pain she was in, she was smiling.

"It hurts," she laughed. "I'm in pain!" She felt tears coming out of her eyes and Adrien kissed the tears away. "Is this what it's like to be human?" she asked.

Adrien nodded. "Yes. Pain, but there's so much more."

Marinette laughed weakly. "I can't wait."

* * *

 _I am the worst! I'm so sorry for making y'all wait for this, but I hope it was worth it! There's going to be an epilogue then this story will be brought to a close. Soon I'll be uploading a prologue to my Christmas story and then I'll be starting daily updates the 14th to_ _count down the 12 days of Christmas! I hope you all decide to read that story! (It'll be pretty fluffy, Hallmark inspired.) Please let me know what y'all thought of this, and again, I'm so sorry for the wait!_


	8. Epilogue

Epilogue

Apparently bread in French is the same word as pain in English. Pain. Marinette found that to be quite amusing. She loved bread. When she was in the hospital recovering all she would eat was bread. Bread with butter, bread with jam, bread covered in Nutella, she would have it all. It would distract her from the pain. She relished in the pain, though. Not in a masochistic way -she was actually quite miserable- but being human made it worth it. After weeks in the hospital, undergoing surgeries and physical therapy, Marinette was allowed to leave, in a wheelchair. Her back had been broken and she was never going to walk again. Many pitied her for having to live her entire life in a chair, but she was happy. A life in a chair was still a life and she was going to make it an amazing... no... a miraculous one. After all, her being alive in the first place was notihng less than a miracle.

Tabloids wondered why the famous Adrien Agreste, inventor, model, millionaire, and the biggest heart-throb in Paris settled himself with the girl in the chair. Tabloids that liked to stir up trouble wrote that his relationship with Marinette was nothing more than a publicity stunt and he was really dating Paris's "sweetheart," Chloe. Both Adrien and Chloe laughed at that headline. Alya took it upon herself to release an article including interviews from Adrien, Marinette and Chloe, the latter there mostly to confirm there was nothing going on between her an Adrien. Once the article release the rumors died down and Adrien and Marinette were free to live a happy life together.

And they did.

"Adrien," it was snowing and Marinette and Adrien were seated on the couch, Marinette leaning on the blonde, resting her head on his shoulder. Adrien held a video game controller in his hands and Marinette smiled as the man she loved frustratedly tried to solve the puzzle on screen. "Adrien, I think you need to grind a bit more for this boss," she laughed.

He shook his head. "Nope. I'll be fine. It's the first boss, Marinette. The pervy teacher is going down!"

"Seriously! Better safe than sorry, right?"

"You said that when we were choosing the level difficulty!" He laughed. "I was going to go on normal mode but _someone_ said safe would be much better!"

"Don't even start Mr. Agreste! We compromised. Easy mode. You can still die!"

"I've got my lucky charm right here." He readjusted on the couch so Marinette was now sitting on his lap, his arms holding the controller around her waist. "Nothing can hurt me when you're here." He smugly kissed her cheek, causing her to roll her eyes.

"Why don't we make a bet then? If you lose this boss then you have to do whatever I want." She moved her hands so they were on the outside of his, not getting in the way of his controls, but supporting him. "And if you win I have to do whatever you want."

Adrien smirked. This wasn't his first time playing this game. He was confident in his abilities and he still believed as long as Marinette was with him he would have assured victory. "Fine then," he said, "it's a deal." He knew exactly what he was going to ask for.

Adrien moved the character into the boss room and the fight ensued, Adrien defeating the boss with ease. They watched the cut scene following the fight and Adrien saved at the first possible opportunity. Marinette's arms were crossed over her chest and she was pouting. "You still shouldn't have risked it. You should have grinded more so you're leveled up for the next palace."

"Shouldn't have risked it?" he laughed at the irony of her words. "What do you mean I shouldn't have risked it? You're the queen of risks, M'Lady." He took her hands in his, swung Marinette so she was back on the could and no longer in his lap before bringing her hands to his lips, kissing them, kissing each finger.

"What are you doing?" she asked. She felt heat rising to her face, an experience that she was still getting used to. Temperatures were interesting. She didn't know what it was like to be cold or to be warm. Adrien's breath against her hands was warm and she knew she liked that sensation better than being cold.

"I'm trying to decide something." He took her hands away from his lips and opened them up, examining her hands in great detail. "Silver or gold? Which do you prefer?" he asked.

"Why?"

"For my prize. I won remember." He was still looking at her hands and Marinette felt her heart speed up, her breaths becoming more shallow.

"Rose gold," she said, "as a matter of fact. That's my favorite."

"Diamonds or sapphires?"

She licked her lips and tried to not make a big deal out of what was happening. He could be talking about a necklace, couldn't he? He was just looking at her hands because... because he like them. "Opals."

"At a church or a hotel?"

This couldn't be happening. This couldn't be happening because of a stupid video game. "Outside."

"Big or small?"

This was happening. He hadn't said the words but the way he was stroking her left ring finger and now looking in her eyes... "Just our friends."

"When?" she could see the nervousness in Adrien's eyes, the tenseness in his shoulders, as he asked.

"Right now." She said the word like it was a breath of air and a large smile consumed the entirety of Adrien's face.

"Right now?"

She nodded. "Yeah," a laugh started to bubble in her throat, "right now."

"You'll marry me right now?" He looked at her like she was made of stars, like everything she had said was completely out of reach.

"I will. I mean, Nino can officiate, can't he? We just need him Alya and Chloe! Why should we wait?"

Adrien was laughing, tears in the corners of his eyes from pure joy. He lifted Marinette from the couch and put her in her wheelchair. "Alright, let's go get married." He kissed the top of her head once he set her down and pressed his forehead to hers. "I love you."

"I love you, too."

A robot learning to love and becoming human, something Adrien never thought could happen had happened. His life was stranger than fiction, and he wouldn't have it any other way.

* * *

 _The end! I hope y'all enjoyed this short story!_


End file.
